On curtain calls and college jerseys

Rivera's feats at the center of week's top quotes

Here are some of the notable quotes from around Major League Baseball this week:

"If somebody would have told me this time last year that I would have had 40,000 people calling me out of the dugout for a curtain call, I would have told you you were lying. That was something that was touching. It was pretty cool. Down the road, that's one of those memories you definitely remember forever."

-Casey McGehee, commenting on the demand for a curtain call from the Brewers fans on Monday night after he hit a grand slam to help lift Milwaukee to a 10-6 win over the Mets.
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

"It's a real honor to be able to say I caught Mo and I managed Mo. I don't know if we'll ever see another Mariano Rivera. I don't think we ever will."

-Yankees manager Joe Girardi, commenting on closer Mariano Rivera after the legendary reliever nailed down his 500th career save on Sunday night against the Mets.
(Newsday)

"To chase him is an honor and definitely a challenge. And I'm always up for challenges. He's been able to do it with consistency year in and year out, and that's what's really impressive, especially in the American League East.

"Yeah, I definitely try to think of myself being able and being capable, if I stay healthy, to be able to do that. Like I've always said, he's 'The Godfather' of our role, and he's done so much for it.

"You're talking about a guy who has 500 saves and has been through countless postseasons. When you're just aching day in and day out ... I don't know, man."

"I didn't see a big smile on his face when he had a save, but only with the RBI. That's the biggest smile I've seen on his face."

-Joe Torre, commenting on Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who helped pitch Torre to four World Series titles in five years, picking up his first career RBI with a bases-loaded walk.
(Los Angeles Times)

"I used to catch him, and to face him for the first time was something. I joked to Jim Leyland that I'd rather catch him than face him as a hitter. Guys in their dugout started laughing."

-Ivan Rodriguez, now with Houston, explaining what he told the Detroit dugout after stepping out of the batter's box while facing former teammate Joel Zumaya, who throws his fastball 102 mph.
(Houston Chronicle)

"That's his M.O. Unless you get on him and stay on him -- unless you get more out of situations like that than just one run -- he's Roy Oswalt. When he gets the stop, you can see it in him -- he gets tougher and tougher and tougher. The only thing he didn't do to us tonight was throw a no-hitter."

-Tony Gwynn Jr. after Roy Oswalt held his Padres to one run on two hits for a complete-game win on Monday night.
(San Diego Union-Tribune)

"I definitely wanted them. I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do with them. Maybe I'll frame one of them. More than anything, it's fun to look back personally. He called me and told me he had them and was going to drop them off when he had a chance. It's cool to have them back. It will be pretty cool to show my kids some day."

-David Murphy, Texas Rangers outfielder, on receiving the Baylor uniforms he wore during his freshman year at the school. Murphy already had the jerseys from his junior season, when he was a first-team All-America.
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

"The best. It's the best I've ever seen him, personally. It's like, every time you make a mistake, he kills it, just kills it."

-Chris Duncan, contemplating where this season ranks for teammate Albert Pujols, who is batting .337 with 30 home runs and 77 RBIs heading into July. He also has 62 walks and 10 stolen bases.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"I'm pretty cocky on the mound, you could say. Every pitcher has to have it. I don't have all the physical abilities, but the mental abilities have carried me a little bit."

-Daniel Ray Herrera, who stands just 5-foot-6, on the importance of confidence and mental makeup in finding success in the Major Leagues.
(MLB.com)

"It's a huge relief. Last night back at the hotel I was a little scared. When you hear a pop, and when it's in one of those small tendons and joints and stuff like that, you never know. I ruptured my ankle the same way playing in a game against Colorado a few years back, and I thought it was nothing, and it turned out to be surgery and I missed six to eight weeks."

-Mark DeRosa, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman, after learning that his wrist injury was not serious.
(MLB.com)

"I think I have a good opportunity here to help the team win and get some at-bats. That's all that I could ask for. The rest I have to take care of by myself. I have to do some damage to show that I can be a Pirate for a long time."

- Garrett Jones, commenting on his desire for an extended stay in Pittsburgh.
(MLB.com)

"They told me when we got off the bus at 1 a.m., so I didn't get a lot of sleep last night trying to let everybody know and get some people up here. Usually, they do it before the game or right after the game."

- Infielder Drew Sutton, who was recalled from the Minor Leagues on Tuesday night and joined the Reds on Wednesday.
(MLB.com)

"His last start he threw 114 [pitches]. To get the no-hitter, he would have been in the high 120s probably. It would have been interesting if I had to make that decision. The player's arm comes first."

-Braves manager Bobby Cox on pitcher Jair Jurrjens' bid for a no-hitter against the Phillies on Wednesday, which was broken up with two outs in the seventh inning.
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"It shouldn't be a difference; my game shouldn't change. [But] I consider myself a leadoff guy in my heart. I'm the type of guy that enjoys creating havoc. I like to be in the middle of a mess. ... I treat the first at-bat of the game as if it's not my at-bat; it's for my teammates."

-Willie Harris on his role as a leadoff hitter for the Nats.
(Washington Post)

"He wasn't happy with the pitches. You could see him get a little more focused. ... He's a confident young pitcher. Even though he's 21, his makeup is well beyond that. He expects to win."

-Manager Mike Scioscia on 21-year-old pitcher Sean O'Sullivan, who rebounded from allowing consecutive home runs to pitch the Angels to a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Monday.
(Los Angeles Times)

"His presence in this lineup is going to be sorely missed. He's such a special player, such a special person. He brings so much to our club. That win today is for him."

-Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu on the effect of Adrian Beltre heading to the disabled list for surgery to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder.
(Seattle Times)

"We haven't had any [comebacks] like this. During the game, it seems like it's such a slow process. You're down by so much -- you're just chipping away, chipping away -- and the last part seems to just fly by. You certainly need hits when you can get them. In that situation right there, you don't want to be the guy that stops the line from moving."

-Brian Roberts, after the Orioles turned a seventh-inning, 10-1 deficit into an 11-10 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. It was the largest comeback win in Orioles history.
(Baltimore Sun)